Still
by RobertDowneyJrLove
Summary: For once in his life, Tony Stark finally felt at peace. When life's too much, sometimes just closing your eyes and being still is the best way to deal with it all. A lesson Tony is quick to learn...with Pepper by his side of course.


It's two a.m. when he flies into the workshop. The suit's severe metallic crunch echoes through the workshop as he makes his way over to the stand to let JARVIS take the suit off of him. The dark neoprene suit he wears underneath is sticking to his body, soaked and sticky with sweat. The metal pieces of the suit fall away from his body and he heads upstairs to take off the neoprene and shower before joining his wife in bed. She's laying in bed, in one of his dress shirts hugging his pillow to her chest when he tiptoes through to the bathroom. He unzips the wet neoprene and peels it away from his body before stepping into the shower than JARVIS already has running for him.

His soft black hair is matted and a mess of sweaty black tendrils; his body is tired from the fighting and carrying the heavy weight of the suit, sweat is pouring and he can feel his muscles burning with exhaustion and tension. The warm water feels good as it washes over him and sends the last ten hours of sweaty, exhausting battle down the drain with the brown tinged soap. By the time he's finished, his muscles are settling and his body is relaxing, his hair is clean and wet and he feels clean and fresh. He dries off and dresses in a pair of basketball shorts and a clean white t-shirt before going to join his beautiful wife in their bed.

He's barely in bed before she's giving up his pillow for his chest and wrapping her arms around him, clinging to him in an endearing child-like manner that makes him realize just how much he misses it when he isn't there - of course it's also the reason why he knows not to be jealous of the pillow that she hugs when he's gone because he knows that she'll hug him like that he gets back. He lays there, still and quiet, letting his mind take in everything around him. The soft, subtle rhythm of Pepper's breathing, breaking the still silence. The warm softness of cotton sheets and Pepper's body around him.

He just closes his eyes and soaks it all in before giving in to exhaustion.

xxx

He was incapable of being still.

Anyone who knew him personally knew that being still was impossible for him. It wasn't part of his DNA to be still. His schedule demanded that he be on the move constantly. His _mind _demanded that he move constantly. He was a CEO, a superhero and a genius - being still had stopped being an option for him a long time ago. That doesn't mean he doesn't occasionally wish for a moment to just be still. Sometimes his life was just too crazy and his schedule demanded more of him than he could give. He wanted to turn it all off. Turn off the cameras following his every move. Turn off the world around him. He wants to just shut the world off and be still...just for a moment. He knew in the back of his mind that it wouldn't happen, it wasn't possible with the busy-bee like qualities of his everyday life. His life was that of a superhero, even without the suit.

It's no surprise to him when his eyes fly open before sunrise. He doesn't jump up and run to change and start his day - he's too exhausted and much too comfortable with where he is now. He whispers a soft command for JARVIS to lighten the windows. The windows lighten and the view that greets him sucks the air right out of his lungs. Suspended in the sky, over the dark ocean, shimmering in a pale silvery glow is what has to be the most beautiful full moon he's ever seen. The soft silver shimmers against the velvety navy backdrop of the sky, giving the sky an aura of purity, of beauty that he's never seen before. Even though it's fading and he can just see the tinges of gold peeking through the dark clouds, the moon still remains the most prevalent with its silver shimmer and luminescence that's unlike anything he's ever seen before.

He can feel the soft warmth of Pepper sleeping against him, of her body against his as they lay wrapped in a soft sheet that smells of fresh linen, his cologne and her perfume. It's a peaceful morning, for once. One that isn't filled with phone calls and emails and the everyday hassle of being CEO and Iron Man. He loves the peacefulness of it. He wants to enjoy the sunrise, he wants to enjoy the peaceful part of his day. He wants to enjoy the fact that for another couple of hours, he's completely shut off from the rest of the world.

He slips out of the bed and changes out of his sweatpants, into a pair of track pants and slips a faded MIT hoodie over his head. He shoves his feet into a pair of old running shoes and heads for the door. There's a shortcut to the beach and if he hurries, he just may make it in time to see the sun appear like magic over the horizon. He mumbles orders for JARVIS to not wake Pepper wake up at her usual time but let her sleep for as long as she will and to let her know where he'll be in case he doesn't make it back before she wakes up.

He needs this.

The cool air is damp and heavy in his lungs but he takes in as much of it as his lungs will allow as he starts his jog. He lets himself feel every vibration as his feet pound the pavement, lets himself hear every noise that accompanies morning. It's just daylight when he reaches the beach and kicks off his shoes in favor of a slow wade through the cool sand. The sand feels amazing as it slips around his feet, through his toes and clings to the static-y fabric of his pants. He stands just behind where the low morning tide comes rolling in, in a slosh of foamy water and sand that's washing ashore. He watches as the water recedes and the pressure builds before it comes rolling in again in a wave of sea blue foam.

He breathes in the light, coolness of the salty sea water air. It's a scent that never gets old to him. His melted chocolate eyes find the horizon easily and he watches, fascinated, as the sun comes peeking up over the horizon, inch by inch. Gold melds with warm reds, oranges and bright yellows and the sky is tinged with a plethora of color. The clouds have taken on a distinct pink tint and the blue melding with the gold creates a sight that is truly wonderful. The first rays wash over him, bathing him in soft, clean warmth. It's a comforting warmth that feels good against his skin. He stands there, letting the gold warmth wash over him and slip around every muscle in his body. The cool air seems lighter, more refreshing on the beach. The calm stillness of the air, the water and even the calm stillness of the sun pull him deeper into a trance.

"It's beautiful," Pepper's breathy voice brings a serene smile to his face as he turns to her and holds his arm for her, bringing her against him. "It's a beautiful morning on the beach."

"It is." He looks down at her with a tender smile, "What are you doing up?"

"I woke up when I rolled over and the bed was empty." Pepper rests her head on his shoulder, nuzzling into the softness of his sweatshirt. "It's peaceful out here."

Tony just nods, unable to bring his eyes away from the way the sunrise catches in her hair and the way it molds to her soft form, bathing her in its soft luminescence. Pepper just smiles as she takes him in. The usually tense, hard muscles of his body are relaxed and she can feel the comfortable heat that's settled in his body. She revels in the way the gold reflects in his chocolate brown eyes, giving them a distinct amber hue. It's a soft color, reflecting the ardor and the tenderness of the man beneath the superhero façade.

"It's funny," Tony murmurs, pressing a soft kiss into the top of her head. "Yesterday, life was so complicated by Iron Man…by the media coverage of every move I make…now it just seems so simple."

"It's the stillness of it." Pepper whispers in response. "Everything's still. You can focus and let life fade out."

Tony smiles, nuzzling into the top of her head, inhaling the floral scent of her hair. "Sometimes I wish I could just shut the world off. Just close my eyes and come back to right here, right now. To the sunrise, to the stillness of early morning..before everyone's out of bed. Before I have to be harangued by the media for some new story about my life that'll be taken out of context. Before I have to attend meetings about things I don't even care about. Before I feel like I have to change into the person the media wants me to be."

"You don't have to change…for anybody." Pepper tells him softly, "Not for the media…not for me…you should never feel as if you have to change."

"I don't," Tony whispers, letting his eyes drift toward the horizon where the sun is rising higher into the sky, moving at it's own pace and in it's own way - freely. "Not out here anyway. I wish it was like that everywhere. I could do things at my own pace and in my own way…I want to slow down and for once in my life, just be still. Not be up moving around and saving the world. I want someone else to do it." Pepper just remains quiet and waits for him to finish. "I bend until I almost break, because my life is so crazy, all the time. I just want to be able to breath. To just close my eyes, no matter where I am or what I'm doing and I just want to be still and remember a time when I was completely still and at peace."

"And when is that?" Pepper murmurs curiously.

"It's with you," Tony breathes, keeping his eyes closed. "It's early in the morning when our bed is a mess of tangled sheets and you're curled up beside me…the only sheet that's not tangled wrapped around us…the heat of having you next to me…of having your body against mine. It's anytime you're near me. It's right now. It's this morning. It's waking up next to you…watching the sunrise with you."

"I know that you get tired of your busy schedule." Pepper whispers softly, "I know you're exhausted. And I also know that taking a minute to close your eyes and breath can be difficult with the kind of life you live but I think if it's time to try."

"Yea?" Tony looks down as if to make sure she was serious.

"My husband stumbled in at two in the morning, exhausted and half-asleep. I think it's time we worked out a different schedule. It's obvious you're working too much." Pepper murmurs, reaching up to gently stroke the soft hair of his goatee. "You're exhausted right now."

"I'm more exhausted than you know," Tony chuckles bitterly. "But what can I do? I probably have more messages from Fury of places that I need to go…of people that I need to save…I have meetings to attend, paperwork to do."

"Not today." Pepper shook her head. "Today, you're going to rest and from now on, when life's too much, just think about being right here with me…on the beach…with the sun rising in front of us and life going on behind us."

"I might get used to that," Tony chuckles, kissing her hair. "I love you, possibly more than you know, Pepper."

"Oh I know, Tony." Pepper smiles, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "And I love you."

As she settles back into him, her arms wrapped around his abdomen and her head on his shoulder, he takes it all in. Everything is completely still. She's right there beside him and for once in his life, Tony Stark finally feels a sense of peace that he's never known before now.

Xxx

When he returns to his hectic life, it's crazy and he's almost broken but he has that morning locked in his mind. That one morning when it was just him and Pepper, wrapped the soft warmth of the sheets and then bathed in the soft, warm luminescence of the sun.

And when he's had it with life, had all he can take of being a superhero, he reminds himself that it's okay to take a minute and go to that place.

His eyes close and his mind takes him back to those few moments.

Those few moments in time when life stood still and he could just enjoy the peacefulness of it.

And he's still.

* * *

><p><strong>So this is something that I can relate too a little bit. Sometimes, I want nothing more than to just close my eyes, be still and let my mind take me to a place where life doesn't matter. Anyway, this was written while listening to the Tim McGraw song 'Still' because that song just reminded me of Tony - every Tim McGraw song reminds me of Tony, a strange one I am. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed seeing Tony relax for once and not be constantly moving. Leave me some love, Dolls!<strong>

**Love, **

**RobertDowneyJrLove**


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